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The Illalangi vineyards and olive grove are located approximately 200kms from Adelaide in the region known as the 'Riverland'. The Riverland stretches along the Murray River from Blanchetown to Paringa. It is Australia’s largest wine region in volume terms, with most major Australian wine companies sourcing grapes from the region.
Often it is referred to as “the engine room” of the Australian wine industry. Lindeman’s Bin 65, Orlando Wydham’s Jacob’s Creek, Hardy Wine Company’s Nottage Hill and other value for money wines all owe their generous fruit flavours to the Riverland’s warm sunny climate.
With abundant sunshine, the region has a warm, dry semi-arid climate.
Average annual rainfall is less than 270mm. This combined with a lack of humidity, provides ideal growing conditions. Sandy loams over limestone, combined with controlled drip irrigation, allows growers to control yields and produce disease free grapes perfect for premium wines, consistently year in year out.
The lifeline for the region is an abundance of water from the Murray River. For many years this precious resource was wasted, applied to the vines in greater amounts than they required which led to soil degradation, rising water tables and salinity problems.
In recent years, growers in the region have become more aware of the environmental degradation created by over-watering and have taken on new technology. Many growers have converted to the more efficient drip irrigation and installed soil moisture monitoring devices to better match the water applied to the needs of the vines.
For more information about the Riverland Region, please see the Links section.
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